Greater Cambridge Local Plan Issues & Options 2020

Please refer to the Barton Wilmore Greater Cambridge Housing Delivery Study for supporting evidence. In order to accord with Paragraphs 59, 60 and 61 of the NPPF as well as the guidance set out in the PPG covering economic growth and affordability, the GCLP will need to allocate a sufficiently broad range of sites, in size and location, to meet the needs of the Greater Cambridge area. Furthermore, given the conclusions of the Letwin Review (2018), particular attention should be paid to how best to ensure housing need is met at all points throughout the local plan period, with sufficient variety to aid choice for the whole community and therefore increase market absorption.

Yes, strongly agree

Yes. Please refer to the Barton Wilmore Greater Cambridge Housing Delivery Study for supporting evidence. In summary, in order to support the forecast and projected economic growth over the next 20 years, housing need should reflect the upper housing range recommended in the CPIER 2018. Equating to around 2,900 homes each year for Greater Cambridge, an uplift of 71% housing supply compared to the current objectively assessed need, this must be the Authorities’ target to ensure that housing delivery over the next plan period is sufficient to support the growth of the economy. Planning for this higher housing target is required for the GCLP to meet the requirements of Paragraphs 59, 60 and 61 of the NPPF.

The Authorities must provide not only a broad range of sizes, types and tenures needed to meet the needs of different groups within the community, as required by NPPF Paragraph 61, but it must also ensure that a sufficient amount and variety of land can come forward (NPPF Para 59) to ensure flexibility and continuity in supply. Provision of housing on small and medium sized sites (NPPF Para 68) makes an important contribution to this supply, being more easily and quickly delivered than larger sites. A mix of housing in sustainable locations, close to employment, e.g. villages such as Linton that are already in close proximity to the various tech-campuses such as Granta Park and The Babraham Institute.

Current policies adequately address the need for the provision of supporting infrastructure, including public open space and car parking, as well as ensuring that S106 contributions are made to improve or expand local services, facilities and infrastructure where required in scale and kind to the development taking place. Development in villages such as Linton have the opportunity to contribute to and support wider sustainable infrastructure projects, such as the Linton Greenway. Not needing to spend large sums of money on new infrastructure means that contributions can go towards the promotion and facilitation of, amongst other things, sustainable modes of transport and improvements needed within the village.

NPPF Paragraph 103 sets out that development should be focused on locations which are or can be made sustainable and where they offer a genuine choice of transport modes. Linton is already supported by a good bus service and is located on the route of the A1307/ South East Transport / Cambridge to Haverhill improvements project, as well as being part of the Greenways initiative. New development in Linton provides an opportunity to support these projects and make best use of the choice of transport modes available. The site south of Horseheath Road is a short cycle/ walk from the village centre, meaning that new residents will not be reliant on their car for short commutes and have a range of sustainable transport options for longer journeys as well.

Highly flexible

In order to be able to provide a sufficient range of size and types of sites to meet housing need, as well provide for sustainable growth and enhancements to villages, the GCLP should be highly flexible in its approach to the development of jobs and homes on the edges of villages. In the instance of Linton, development on the edge of the village may not accord with the existing and out of date settlement framework, however due to its location and recent permissions and residential development, the site is a very sustainable location for growth which would both support the vitality and viability of the village itself but also provide homes in a location that has a number of existing and proposed sustainable transport options into Cambridge. Please refer to the Barton Wilmore Greater Cambridge Housing Delivery Study for supporting evidence.

Dispersal: Villages, Public Transport Corridors, Densification of existing urban areas, Edge of Cambridge: Outside Green Belt, Edge of Cambridge: Green Belt, Dispersal: New Settlements

In order to provide the level of growth required, the GCLP will need to site new development across a wide range of locations and at a range of sizes. No one option will reliably deliver the growth required, a balanced approach will be required. Villages, especially those closer to Cambridge, outside of the Green Belt and on Sustainable transport corridors, will have a part to play in this. Linton is one such example.

Apart from the very smallest rural hamlets we believe that some development should be permitted in all villages and we disagree with the restrictive approach set out in the current settlement hierarchy policy. The key villages where further development should be focussed are those: • Located close to Cambridge so as to reduce travel (including those surrounded by Green Belt); • Which benefit from proximity to a reasonable scale of existing or planned employment – e.g. Linton; • Those villages with a healthy level of services and facilities e.g. secondary schools – e.g. Linton; • Those located on existing transport corridors including public transport e.g. Linton; and • Those located on proposed transport corridors and hubs - e.g. Linton. In light of the above, villages such as Linton to the south of the city would be a very sustainable location for new development. Linton is a sustainable village with ample existing key services, including: • Supermarket; • Doctors’ Surgery; • Pharmacy; • Veterinary Surgery; • Post Office; • Bakeries; • Linton Village College; • Linton CE Infant School; • Linton Heights Junior School; • Linton Village College Adult Learning; • Granta School; • Playing Fields; • Linton Community Sports Centre; • Numerous Shops; • Restaurants and cafes; • Public House; • Village Hall; • Guest Houses; • Linton Zoo; • Public Parks; • Nursing and Retirement Living homes; and • Church. In addition, Linton is already in close proximity to existing and planned employment such as: • Granta Park – Located 7.5 km from the site and is accessible by car (8-10mins), by the no.13/13A bus (15mins) and by bike (40mins). Granta Park employs in excess of 2,000 people and has further planning permission to expand. • Babraham Research Campus – Located 10km from the site which is accessible by car (12-15mins), by the no.13/13A bus (15mins) and by bike (30mins). • Wellcome Genome Campus – Employ circa 2,600 people and is located at Hinxton, 14km from the site which is accessible by car (15mins) and by bike (40mins). This campus also offers a private bus service from Cambridgeshire villages including Linton to and from the campus. Furthermore, Wellcome has submitted a planning application for the expansion of the Hinxton campus including 150,000 sqm of flexible employment uses. • Addenbrooke’s Teaching Hospital and Research Centre including the Cambridge Biomedical Campus – Located 15km from the site which is accessible by car (15-20mins), by the no.13/13A bus (40mins) and by bike (45mins). Furthermore, as part of the Cambridge South East Transport - Better Public Transport Project, a new Linton to Cambridge “greenway” is planned. The Linton Greenway is planned to run along the former Haverhill to Cambridge railway would link Linton to Granta Park, Cambridge Biomedical Campus and Cambridge City. In addition, a rural travel hub to serve the greenway is proposed to be located between Bartlow Road and the A1307, to the south of the site put forward for residential development south of Horseheath Road (north of Bartlow Road). In essence, Linton is in a unique position in that at present it has 3,500 jobs within close proximity, is already on a direct public transport route with further public transport and cycle enhancements planned that will link the village to Cambridge via the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. In light of this, considerable growth (e.g. 100 or more dwellings) of a village such as Linton, particularity sites within close proximity of the proposed greenway transport hub, should be strongly encouraged.

We note the wording of this question differs from that at 5.3.6 of the Consultation Paper which refers to public transport corridors. Yes, we agree with the aim although it can only apply to developments above a certain size threshold. The location of major new residential development sites should fully take account of existing or planned or possible new transport corridors particularly those with a strong public transport (or non-car) element. For example, the “Linton Greenway” is a proposed designated pedestrian, cycle and equestrian route will link Linton to Cambridge. The Linton Greenway will run alongside the A1307 between the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Granta Park, Great Abington and Linton, providing an important alternative transport route into the Campus for those living to the south-east of Cambridge, in villages such as Linton. In addition, a rural travel hub to serve the greenway is proposed to be located between Bartlow Road and the A1307, to the south of the site put forward for residential development south of Horseheath Road (north of Bartlow Road). In light of the above, sustainable villages such as Linton, should be prioritised for new residential development which is of a large scale to take advantage of the transport corridors as well as proposed travel hubs and can be master planned to sufficiently incorporate a mix of dwellings, open space, further facilities and landscaping.

We believe that the village classifications within the planned policies relating to the Development Strategy should be reconsidered to take into account the villages such as Linton that are sustainable villages in their own right but also in close proximity to employment and on existing and planned public transport corridors. Linton should therefore be higher up the settlement hierarchy and considered suitable to accommodate more development. For example, at present, under Policy S/9, Linton is defined as a “Minor Rural Centres” where residential development is limited to only 30 dwellings per scheme within the development framework. Due to the sustainable nature of Linton, this village should be considered much higher in the settlement hierarchy and a much more flexible approach taken to development occurring on the edge and not necessarily within the development framework.